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Gantz is a Japanese manga and anime series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. Gantz tells the story of a teenager named Kei Kurono who dies in a train accident and becomes part of a semi-posthumous "game" in which he and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens. The missions they embark upon are often dangerous. Many die on each mission, but others replace them in the same manner as Kei Kurono's appearance. The Gantz anime, directed by Ichiro Itano and animated by Gonzo, ran for 13 episodes and had a direct sequel called Gantz: Second Stage, which continued the series for another 13 episodes. Both seasons make up the 26 episode series. It was licensed in North America by ADV Films. The anime series is distributed in the United Kingdom by MVM Films, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. Dark Horse Comics started releasing the manga in English in June 2008. Plot A pair of high school students, Kei Kurono and Masaru Kato, are seemingly run over by a subway train, after saving the life of a homeless drunk who had fallen onto the tracks. Following their untimely deaths, Kei and Masaru find themselves transported—alive and well—along with a number of people who have also just died, to the interior of an unfurnished Tokyo condominium from which the Tokyo Tower may be seen—and none of them are able to leave. At one end of the room is a featureless black sphere known as "Gantz". By way of green text that appears on the surface of the sphere, Gantz informs those present that their lives have ended. The following words appear on the black sphere's surface: "Your lives have ended. What you do with your new lives is entirely up to me. That's the theory, anyway." (The ADV translations have it as "Your lives are over, you bastards. What you do with your new lives is entirely up to me. So there you have it.") Without explaining anything to them, the Gantz sphere opens up to reveal a bald man on life support in the center, and three racks that offer various items for them to use. Information on the Gantz Targets appear on the surface of the sphere, shortly before the Gantz Team are transported to the location of the mission, where they are expected to kill aliens. The series regularly introduces new characters. Most of them are killed off almost as quickly as they appear, though at times a stable cast of veterans forms. The hunters can not return from their mission until all enemies have been killed, or the time limit has run out. If the mission is successful, each individual is awarded points for the aliens they have killed. They are then allowed to leave, and live their lives as they see fit, Gantz summoning them back again when its time for the next mission. The only way to stop having to participating in the missions, is to earn a hundred points, and choose the option to be freed. Equipment Gantz gives out individual suits for each person there, giving them great strength, speed, jumping ability, and protection from harm. There are also three types of guns at the start, the controller, and a room with swords and two vehicles. Additional weapons and items are gained from the hundred point menu. Characters The characters in Gantz change fairly quickly at first, as many die on the missions, only to be replaced by others, but eventually a regular cast seems to have formed. Five characters have been revived after death, when someone used a 100 points to bring them back. Additional character information can be found at: * List of Gantz Hunters at each mission A list of every mission, and every hunter that was there at the start. *Gantz Targets A list of every enemy Gantz selected as their target thus far. *List of notable Gantz hunters(Osaka team) A list of the known Osaka team members during the mission the Tokyo team was with them. *List of Gantz Characters A detailed list of every single character ever featured, no matter how insignificant Aspects of the missions The entire Gantz game has it's own tricks and secrets to it, those who survive will find out more to the games than what they originally expected. Gantz Trivia Many characters in Gantz are based on people, such as the unnamed vampire Gantz has nicknamed Kill Bill, looks like the character Gogo from the movie Kill Bill. Media Manga Written by Hiroya Oku, the manga chapters have been published in the Japanese language magazine Weekly Young Jump since 2000 and is still ongoing; the individual chapters of the series are being released approximately every fifteen days. Gantz is divided into two main story arcs referred to as phases. After the completion of Phase 1 the author put the series on hiatus for a short time to work on the second Phase. Phase 1 consists of the first 237 chapters. On November 22, 2006, the first chapter of Phase 2, chapter 238, was released. The individual chapters are collected by Shueisha in volumes; the first volume was released on December 11, 2000. To date twenty-four volumes have been released in all. Publishing company Dark Horse Comics currently has licensing rights for the release of English translations of Gantz. The first volume was released on June 25, 2008. The series is also published in Spain by Glénat and Germany, Italy and Brazil by Planet Manga. Anime The Gantz anime is divided into two seasons: The first season is known as "The First Stage", while the second season is known as "The Second Stage", which is a direct continuation of the first season. The anime has been licensed in the United States of America by ADV Films. Video game On March 17, 2005, Konami published a game for the PlayStation 2 based on the Gantz series. It was named simply as Gantz: The Game. It features the characters and plot up to the Buddha Alien mission (though the vampires and the Shorty Aliens are present). The game may be classified as a third-person shooter, although it does have a few Role-playing game elements put together. More information can be found on the game's website. The game also includes extras including Free Play mode, a Mini Mode, Magazine Browser mode, Gantz Rankings, a special preview movie and the scenario completion statistic. Reception The first season, known as the "First Stage", was heavily edited on Japanese TV, but the second season ("Second Stage") remained uncut. The Gantz anime is often criticized for its ending and pacing problems. The anime was made while the manga was still in early production, and thus Gonzo had to produce episodes at an irregular pace, and end the series in a manner a number of fans found unsatisfying—a common occurrence when an anime is made from a manga that has not finished its run. Current Storyline Final Mission Arc With the world coming to an end, all the Tokyo Gantz team players have been called for this supposedly "final mission" of the game. Tensions are rising amongst them as they fear for their lives and contemplate their survival. They're transported to an unknown location outside Japan in another country, where a massive battle has already started. However, what they'll encounter is not known. (A dead Gantz hunter with his head and legs torn off is seen at the lower left) The team suddenly realize that have appeared in Italy, several miles from Rome's Colosseum. Though the battle continues the Tokyo Gantz team soon learn that this isn't a war, it's a slaughter as all Italian Gantz hunters have almost been wiped out completely. The aliens they will be facing are the Roman statue aliens, resembling angels and Gods; so strong they can even break the Gantz swords and suits with ease. Inaba is surrounded by several statues. The team begins to fight the aliens as the other teams begin to call for Gantz to tele-port them. The are being devastated by the aliens and it is not clear whether or not the other teams are scared or if they completed the mission and are not being transported. Sakurai is being chased by one of the flying angel aliens, and is cornered. Before the alien has a chance to strike, it is blown away by another Gantz hunter on a Gantz bike. It becomes apparent that the X-Rifle has enough power to kill the smaller aliens. Sakurai jumps on the bike with the hunter after he finds out he is from Hiroshima. He finds out that this mission has members from all over the world, pointing out America, China, and Japan. Sakurai asks the hunter about the final mission and what "Katastrophe" is, but the hunter is killed, his face being either shot or ripped in half. Inaba is still surrounded by the statues. One of the small statues floats up and rips of two of his fingers. As he begins to accept death, Suzuki arrives and blows all of the aliens away, yelling at Inaba to shoot till the very end. As he's shooting, the angel aliens pick him up and rip off his arms and legs. As he falls to the ground he sees the face of his wife. References Gantz , Vol #1, Graphic Novel ISBN-1593079499 Gantz , Vol #2, Graphic Novel ISBN-1595821881 Gantz , Vol #3, Graphic Novel ISBN-1595822321 Gantz , Vol #4, Graphic Novel ISBN-1595822505 External links * [http://www.gantz.net Official Gantz website] *[http://www.gantz.tv/ Official ADV Gantz anime website] *[http://www.gantz.com.au/ Madman Entertainment's Gantz website] Official Australian Gantz website. * [http://www.konami.jp/gs/game/gantz/ Official Gantz: The Game website] *Ain't it Cool's article about Gantz * Wikipedia Gantz article Category:Gantz